A Combat Soldier Writes
From Iraq: "I Ask the American People to be Brave"

Letter Provides Soldier's-Eye-View
of U.S. Progress

The National Center for Public Policy
Research today has posted online a just-received e-mail from
a soldier, Spc. Joe Roche, who is actively involved in combat
missions against Al Sadr's forces in Iraq.

The letter
is based on notes Spc. Roche took while on missions. It explains
what Roche says are "our four main goals against Sadr"
and a soldier's-eye-view of the progress the U.S. is making on
the ground in achieving these goals.

Because the letter is intense and compelling,
it has been published online by The National Center without abridgment
(save for the removal of the name of an injured soldier).

The letter itself is over 1,700 words.
Some brief excerpts follow:

"The fighting we are engaged
in against the uprising of Muqtada Al-Sadr is one that is extremely
sensitive and risks catastrophe. Had we entered this previously,
it would not have been possible for us to win. Over the months,
we have been involved in preparations and much planning. Thus,
today we are scoring amazing successes against this would-be
tyrant. I ask that the American people be brave. Don't fall for
the spin by the weak and timid amongst you that are portraying
this battle as a disaster. Such people are always looking for
our failure to justify and rescue their constant pessimism. They
are raising false flags of defeat in the press and media. It
just isn't true."

"...today are in a climactic
battle against him and his militia. When the remnants of Saddam's
regime were in full uprising in Fallujah, Sadr thought his time
had come to make his bid for total power and to oust the US from
Baghdad. He was very wrong. It has been subtle and very well
done by our leaders. You should be proud. It would have seemed
impossible to have achieved our four main goals against Sadr
even just a few months ago. Now today, despite the message of
the pessimists who are misleading you into despair, we are have
scored all the victories needed to bring this battle to a close.
First goal was to isolate Sadr. Second was to exile him from
his power-base in Baghdad. Third was to contain his uprising
from spreading beyond his militias. And the last goal was to
get both his hard-line supporters to abandon him, and to do encourage
moderates to break from him. This has been done brilliantly,
and now we are on the march in a way that just months ago seemed
impossible to do. Sadr is losing everything."

"...Shia leaders are breaking
from him now in large numbers. The overall Shia leader of Iraq,
Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, has left Sadr's call for jihad and
uprising to flounder on deaf ears. Bremmer and Gen. Abizaid stunned
the overall Shia community by negotiating a calm in Fallujah.
That has tail-spinned Sadr and his efforts to intimidate Iraq's
Shia leaders. They see the US hand is strong, and that therefore
they are making a mistake in kowtowing to Sadr's terror and violence."

"I'm not writing you blind to
the casualties this is causing us. My battalion, the 16th Armored
Engineers, should be home reunited w/ family and friends after
serving a full year here. Instead, we are still here where the
temp is reaching 115-125 degrees. And some of my fellow soldiers
have fallen. Units of my battalion are right in the front of
the fighting. Your prayers are needed. [A soldier] lost his eyes
and a hand last week. The surgeons are trying to salvage his
hand now by re-attaching it. This tragedy is a real nightmare.
Another suffered shrapnel wounds in his abdomen. Others have
been cut badly. Miracle of miracles, however, Sgt. Morales on
Friday was shot in the CVC (helmet) -- the bullet ricocheted
around his head and fired into the back of his seat, never cutting
his skin!!!"

"You need to know that your soldiers
are working their hardest. My unit is just one of many in this
fight. What you need to do is be strong and persistent in your
faith with us. Sadr's militia is in panic and desperate, so they
are dangerous, but you need to keep this all in perspective.
The pessimists would have you believe this is a disaster. Don't
listen to them... Eliminating Sadr's threat is part of the overall
mission and we are further ensuring the liberation of the Iraqi
people. This has to be done, and we are doing it. Don't be seduced
by those who would rather that we sit back and just enjoy the
freedoms past generations of Americans have sacrificed to gain
for us. This is our time to earn it. I remember President Bush
saying after the September 11th attacks: 'The commitment of our
Fathers is now the calling of our time.'"

Spc. Joe Roche serves with the 16th Engineering
Battalion of the 1st Armored Division, which is part of a quick
deployment force tasked with dealing with sudden eruptions by
enemy forces within Iraq. More information about Joe, other commentaries
he has written, and information (including an address and suggested
items) about sending care packages to soldiers fighting in Iraq
can be accessed at http://www.nationalcenter.org/RochePage.html
online.

The National Center for Public Policy Research is a non-partisan,
conservative/free-market think-tank established in 1982 and located
on Capitol Hill. It can be visited at http://www.nationalcenter.org
online.